Unconditional
by Dokueki no Kaiyou
Summary: To Itachi's displeasure and Haku's grief, Kisame and Zabuza have ended up killing each other over an old grudge. With no where to go, Haku takes advantage of Itachi's lack of partner and clings to the less-than-enthusiastic Uchiha. Starts 1 year BSS


The young boy gazed down at the body before him, half expecting the man to groan and scold him for the umpteenth time for making his death so rough and painful. By the end of the conversation, of course, the man would once again be praising him of his skill and cleverness; it was during these moments that the boy was the happiest. The moments when his insides would warm in a soft, fuzzy sort of way.

An icy wind cut through the boys clothing, causing him to shiver and fall to his knees as the last five minutes finally caught up to him.

He's dead.

It wasn't supposed to happen like this.

Brushing his long dark bangs from his face, the boy further inspected the body. The tan skin was bruised, bloody, and chunks of flesh from his limbs were missing. The delicate boy's chest tightened and he ran a pale hand down the side of the man's face, caressing the still cooling cheeks. What would he do now? For the first time since his early childhood, he felt truly lost. He had nothing without this man.

The rustling of cloth pulled the boy out of his daze. Remembering he wasn't alone, he turned to the man who had stopped him from saving his beloved.

"Hn, I told him it was a foolish idea." The stranger switched his gaze from the corpse on the opposite side of the clearing to the young boy, the bright red pattern on his coat making his obsidian eyes seem even darker. He looked up and down the small frame kneeling next to the corpse, eyebrows twitching in concentration. After what seemed like hours he gave a small frown and turned on his heel, leaving the younger with the two bodies.

"Wait!" The older teen stopped at the desperate call "Please take me with you."

"No. You are of no interest to me."

"But you need a new companion, yes?" the boy reached for his fallen mask "The other man, he called you his 'partner.' I'm assuming you'll need to replace him." He secured the porcelain mask over his feminine face and stood. "My name is Haku. Let me be your tool."

"I never asked for your name" the elder regarded him cooly, but seem to weigh the options in his head. "It would save me the trouble of finding someone new." He turned his head back towards the smaller boy. "As long as you're not a burden, but it's up to Leader-sama to determine wether you stay with me. If he does not deem you strong enough, you will be killed."

"Leader-sama?"

"He's the head of the Akatsuki, an organization of S-rank criminals. You mostly held your own against me before, so you should be suitable as Kisame's replacement. If you're not willing to assassinate and abduct however, don't follow me."

"As I said, I will be your tool." soft coal eyes watched the older teen turn to leave once more. "What is your name?"

"Uchiha Itachi" The elder continued walking away.

"Uchiha-san!" Haku called out once more.

Itachi stopped, "You're annoying me and I will not hesitate to kill you."

The younger ignored the threat, "Have you no respect for the dead, Uchiha-san?" His voice now holding a dangerous edge.

"Hn." Itachi turned back again. _I'm going to get motion sick if this keeps up... _He approached his former partner, hoisted the bigger man over his shoulder, and walked in the direction of the nearby shore. Once the Uchiha left, presumedly to dump the body in the ocean (his partner had seemed very fish-like), Haku let out a sigh and turned in the opposite direction to the woods to collect kindling. After preparing a bed of wood, he lifted the man up on his back for the last time. _I guess this is goodbye, Zabuza, it's a shame they had to mar your beautiful body so. Maybe I can be more useful to this Uchiha Itachi. I owe it all to you and your training, you've saved my life. I wish I could say I saved yours... _Pulling out flint and steel from his bag, the young boy lit the four corners of his crudely made bed. _I love you, you will always be precious to me..._ He then sat back, grief hitting him like a brick wall, and tried to hold back the tears. Shinobi were only tools, there was no need for emotion. A sad smile graced his soft features as he remembered Zabuza's teachings. _What am I doing? The _last_ thing he would want is for me to cry at his funeral, if you can call this a funeral... _He looked up at the sound of footsteps. Upon seeing the Uchiha returning he was suddenly very grateful for his mask that hid his tear-streaked cheeks.

After observing the now smoldering pile of ashes (how long _had_ he been gone?), Itachi, for what he hoped would be the last time, turned towards the path leading out of The Wave Country. "Let's go."

Haku swept Zabuza's ashes into a small jar and rushed to the Uchiha's side. "I hope I can be of use to you."

"I don't care what you do as long as it doesn't get in my way." At this Haku kept silent. It wasn't perfect, but he needed to become stronger and the only way he knew how was by protecting a special person. Uchiha Itachi, although unknowingly, had just saved Haku's life.

And for that, Haku vowed never to leave his side.

They stopped at the mouth of a large cave. The entrance was blocked by a giant boulder and a seal could barely be seen from where the two stood. Haku broke the silence that had consumed them ever since they left The Wave Country, "Have we reached our destination, Uchiha-san?"

Itachi simply replied: "I need to blind-fold you," and Haku was plunged into darkness.

The boy started tying his hair up for battle as he felt his partner's chakra flare and heard the dull groan of rocks scraping over each other. He had figured he would have to do some kind of fighting (probably to-the-death, since apparently the Akatsuki was for S-rank criminals only) before he got to join, and - although he didn't necessarily like it - he knew that his most likely partner for said battle would be the elder Uchiha. When the grinding noise stopped, a pressure on his shoulder lead him forward. After the boulder seemed to have moved back into place (Haku had always assumed getting in and out of secret bases would be a much quieter ordeal) the blind-fold was lifted and the contents of the cave were revealed. There was a huge statue protruding from the back wall and two shadowy figures seemed to be perched on it's out-stretched fingertips.

"Itachi, nice of you to finally join us" a dark voice rang from the statue's right thumb.

"Hn."

"Zetsu has informed me of your new traveling companion." The voice sounded surprised, if not curious. "It's not like you to make friends."

"I was in need of a partner and Haku seemed suitable"

"Haku" The dark man paused and said boy started to get nervous. "A pretty name for such a pretty girl. What kinds of skills does she posses?"

"The ability to wield ice through a blood-line limit."

"You know I don't just let outsiders join the Akatsuki."

"I am aware of this. I was merely in need of a new partner and having fought Haku shortly before, knew he wouldn't drag us down."

"He stood up against the infamous Uchiha clan? I wish to see this blood-line limit for myself. Fight. And I wont accept anything below killing-intent."

Itachi hn'd and Haku slid on his mask, bowing.

The idea of having to attack, and probably kill, Itachi had at first almost sent Haku into a panic attack. The logical side of the ice-wielder, however, told him that killing your soon-to-be partner just to initiate would be counter-productive and defeat the whole purpose of the ritual. After being calmed down by the realization, the boy relaxed into a comfortable battle stance.

Learning from his previous encounter with the sharingon, Haku kept his eyes trained on the lower half of Itachi's body. Not wanting to waste any time and look hesitant, he flung a fist-full of ice-senbon, aiming only towards his foe's vitals. Itachi, of course, dodged, kicking up some of the water that had collected on the cave's floor. Grinning behind his mask, Haku quickly preformed the necessary hand signs and murmured, "demonic ice mirrors." Itachi smirked, _maybe he really is just a one-trick-pony_, but faltered when he realized his feet had been frozen to the ground. _I can't believe I let such a simple trap get me... _Before he could break from the puddle's grasp, however, glass-like mirrors had already sprung from the ground, preventing his escape.

Leader-sama could have sworn he just blinked once, and already Itachi was encased in a prism of ice. He blinked again, and found the Uchiha prodigy laying on the ground, looking like a pin cushion, with a now mask-less Haku smiling beside his mangled body.

"I see, another fast one..." Itachi's body vanished in a poof "I'm surprised you had enough time to form a bunshin, Itachi."

Haku beamed, and bowed. "I hope it has pleased you, Leader-sama."

"Zetsu" the shadowed figure finally addressed the strange man next to him "tell Kakazu to make another cloak. We have a new member."

"Leader-sama?"

"Yes, Haku?"

"I'm a boy" his smile grew, amused.

"Ah. Then one of Itachi's old cloaks should work just fine."

Haku skipped merrily down the path ahead of Itachi with his arms outstretched and his long sleeves flapping in the wind behind him; even Itachi's smallest remaining cloak was sizes too big for the boy.


End file.
